Self-cleaning rake



March 13, 1951 F. F. MATTMANN 2,545,001

SELF-CLEANING RAKE Filed March 9, 1950 Fiofi JNVENTOR.

Patented Mar. 13, 1951 UNITED sT' T s PATENT OFFICE I I .snnr-oji fsziz enmn v i eaner. Mattmann, North; Bergen. N,

Thi invention: relatesto new and useful ;provements tin a-self cleaning, rake, and more particularly to,,-simpleand efficient cleaning means that will operateeinean extremely reliable and efficient manner to quicklystrinthe rake of leaves-, refuse or other foreign matter :whichmay adhere tothe'teeth or be wedgedbetween the teeth, making it. unnecessary to use the hands toclean the teeth.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rake tooth cleaner'whichis so constructed as to be readily attached to and detached from rakes of various forms and which may be made of any material, cast, pressed or machined and of suitable size to fit any rake, at a very low cost of production.

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for quickly cleaning the teeth of a rake, which consists of a stripping bar, metal arm bars connecting the stripping bar to a clamp on the rake handle, a spring for keeping the stripping bar near the head of the rake, and a guard for guiding the stripping bar with respect to the rake, for preventing the rake tooth cleaner from disassembling itself from the rake and for engaging the ground when the rake is inverted and pressed against the ground to move the stripping bar to clean the rake.

Another object of the invention is to provide a rake tooth cleaner whose parts are arranged in a novel manner so that the rake may be ophpplicationiMaroh 9, iesarseriai:Ndfluaeiz; whims. (c1. 56%00108.)

. cleaning bar isv a'light 'metal bar having vis.elongated or oblong. Theseelongated openings give the cleaning bar more freedom'to travel, which freedom to travel is especially useful in connection with some rakes having curved teeth.

erated in the usual manner without being interf fered with but which can be readily operated to clean the teeth.

The above and additional objects are accomplished by such means as are shown in the accompanying drawings, described in the following specification and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

' In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my self cleaning rake.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of my rake tooth cleaner detached from a rake.

Fig. 3 is a side view of the self cleaning rake of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a side view of my self cleaning rake in inverted position, pressed against the ground.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of my self cleaning rake, in inverted position, pressed against the ground.

In the drawings a common type of rake is shown, having the usual handle I, rake head 2, and rake head supporting rods 3. The rake tooth cleaner includes rake cleaning bar 4. This rake The metal arm bars are shown as flat strips of metal which may be spot welded to the c eaning bar and then twisted one half turn so that the ends at the clamp will be in vertical positions to line up with the clamp. Theother end of clamp 8 is secured by a bolt or rivet ll. arm bars 6 and 1 are bent at substantially right angles to form guide bars [2 and I 3. As an alternative construction the guide bars may be separate pieces, secured to the metal arm bars 6 and I and secured to the rake cleaning bar 4, in some way as by spot welding. The guide bars I2 and I3 are connected by connecting bar [4. At the unattached edge of connecting bar M, are lugs l5 and 16. The cleaning bar 4 and connecting bar H! are spaced a distance which will limit the movement of the cleaning bar to a distance slightly less than the length of the rake teeth. This prevents the rake tooth cleaner from dismantling itself from the rake. Elements !2, l3 and [4 may be referred to as a guard since among other things, they guard against dismantling of the self cleaning rake. The lugs I 5 and I6 are important since they keep the guard from sliding off the head of the rake.

The device also includes an extra center bar l1. One end of this extra, center bar is pivoted to the clamp 8 since bolt 9 also passes through a hole in the end of the extra center bar. The other end of the extra center bar is clamped to the center of the head 2 of the rake by means of U-shaped clamp l8. Coil spring [9 is connected to metal arm bars 6 and I at the ends of spring l9 and the middle of spring [9 passes over center bar I I. and center bar I! is to normally bias the cleaning bar 4 to a position 'near the rake head.

In operation, the parts are normally in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3, and the rake can be used in the usual way. Whenever the rake needs cleaning it can be inverted and con- The metal 7 The purpose of spring [9 2,545,001 if ,l

in details of construction, proportions and arrangements of the parts may be resorted to when desired, without departing from my invention.

Having t-hus described my invention, .what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A seltj cleaning rake including the usual rake head, rake teeth, rake handle and rake head supporting rods connecting the ends of the rake head to the rake handle, a clamp clamped about the rake handle, two metal arm bars, means pivotally securing one end of each metal arm bar to said clamp, a rake cleaning bar which is substantially the same length as the rake head, the rake cleaning bar having apertures through which the rake teeth pass, means securing the metal arm bars to the rake cleaning bar at spaced points, a guard extending from the rake cleaning bar in a direction substantially parallel to the rake teeth to a point beyond the rake head, a center bar, means pivotally securing one end of the center bar to the clamp, means securing the other end of the center bar to the rake head at a point substantially midway between the metal arm bars, and a coil spring having one end secured to each metal arm bar and the center of the spring passing around the center bar.

2. The self cleaning rake of claim 1 in which the pivotal connections include oblong openings to give the cleaning bar freedomof movement to cooperate with curved rake teeth.

3. The self cleaning rake of claim 1 in which the guard has a portion extending over and spaced'from the rake head and lugs extending substantially parallel to the rake teeth and to wards the metal a'rm bars. g

4. A rake tooth .cleaner comprising an elongated rake cleaning bar having apertures to accommodate rake teeth, clamping means constructed to clamp about a rake handle, two metal arm bars, means securing 'one' end ofeach metal arm bar to said clamping means, means securing the metal arm bars to spaced points of the rake cleaning bar, a guard secured to an edge of the rake cleaning bar and extending in a direction substantially at right angles to the metal arm bars and a coiled spring having its ends secured respectively to the metal arm bars.

FRANK F. MATTMANN.

" No references cited. 

